Funny, isn't it? I came to uni to study English Lit., thinking I'd be in with the chance of reading a shit load of books but it seems to have become quite the opposite.
I'm reading one book every two weeks if I'm lucky. The last full book I read was that of the Alchemist by H.P. Lovecraft although being ten pages long I don't know if it could even be called a book. A short story or novella if we're lucky.
In English we've been studying Jekyll and Hyde and writing a ridiculously annoying essay on it which has meant I've had my nose buried in nothing but academic teaching books for the past 10 days. Maybe that'll explain my not reading. Or maybe it's because I've got almost 2000 books on my e-reader and just can't decide on one to read right through as I come across more. Shameful really.
I think what I'll do is finish this article and email it off and then sit down with a book I took out of the library and read it right through. The title will be revealed when (if) I finish it.
[Inner note: Just checked my e-reader and been reminded I was reading a certain book on Friday which I'd forgotten about. Probably because I went to a party that night and woke up at 7:30 this (Saturday) evening.]
With the above note in mind, I'll make sure to finish that book (It's only 50 pages long) and also another which I'm about to start.
I must get into some sort of habit of reading more books.
That'll be all.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
A Simples Life by Aleksandr Orlov
Written by everyone's favourite meerkat, A Simples Life is the autobiography is Aleksandr Orlov, a meerkat moved from Russia to continue running the family business of Compare the Meerkat (not to be confused with Compare the Market).
The book travels back to the 18th century in which Orlov's great-great-grandfather ran out of goods in the Kalahari desert and had no choice but to walk for weeks until he came across a form of transport to get him and his helper to safe land.
After finding a collection of paintings of meerkats, a descendant of Aleksandr decided to set up a market stall comparing meerkats. Despite the concept not working well, the meerkats persisted and, after much of this persistence, comparethemeerkat.shop was opened and a legacy was born.
Today we can't turn on the TV without getting at least one glimpse of the worlds most famous meerkat and despite it being an advert, I've still not read or heard the words "I'm sick of that pissing meerkat". We all love him and if the ad suddenly stopped, nobody would get excited about seeing a meerkat at the zoo.
Finished in just a sitting and a half this was a fairly short book but well worth the money which came off my bursary. Along with telling a life story, the book as entertaining, causer of laughs and included a load of amusing pictures. It would have been better if it was slightly longer though.
Total rating: 4/5
The book travels back to the 18th century in which Orlov's great-great-grandfather ran out of goods in the Kalahari desert and had no choice but to walk for weeks until he came across a form of transport to get him and his helper to safe land.
After finding a collection of paintings of meerkats, a descendant of Aleksandr decided to set up a market stall comparing meerkats. Despite the concept not working well, the meerkats persisted and, after much of this persistence, comparethemeerkat.shop was opened and a legacy was born.
Today we can't turn on the TV without getting at least one glimpse of the worlds most famous meerkat and despite it being an advert, I've still not read or heard the words "I'm sick of that pissing meerkat". We all love him and if the ad suddenly stopped, nobody would get excited about seeing a meerkat at the zoo.
Finished in just a sitting and a half this was a fairly short book but well worth the money which came off my bursary. Along with telling a life story, the book as entertaining, causer of laughs and included a load of amusing pictures. It would have been better if it was slightly longer though.
Total rating: 4/5
Friday 4 March 2011
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (e-book)
Everyone's favourite stoner Disney movie (why doesn't Google Chrome recognise this word?) now has a review on this blog.
For a story that began as an improvisation told to three children on a river trip, Alice in Wonderland is a very good book filled with sheesha-smoking caterpillars, permanently-smiling cats and mock/false turtles. Not forgetting a King and Queen of hearts and pelicans used for croquet mallets.
The story, of course, begins with Alice spotting a white rabbit in a waistcoat which runs down a rabbit hole and she just HAS to follow this curious rabbit, doesn't she?
What follows is a story of a girl who goes from standard size to mega-small to long-necked who explores this Wonderland of the aforementioned animals. She gets to hear stories of turtles who danced with lobsters, meet children who transform into pigs and a Cheshire cat which has the ability to appear and disappear upon its will.
As the story goes on, things just seem to get weirder until the climax in which Alice finds herself at a trial against an unnamed character which has written some strange verse when the full pack of cards rises into the air and falls onto her.
This was a book I'd wanted to read for some time, and when I found the free e-book of it, I felt obliged to download it.
Although this was originally told/written for children, I reckon adults would also take pleasure in reading such a story (Wikipedia does say that adults enjoy it also). It's like some sort of legal acid trip put into words (let's face it, when have you EVER seen a caterpillar sitting on a mushroom, puffing away on a hookah when sober?)
Certainly worth the 9kb and short amount of time it took to download, AIW is one for everyone. It also read very well on the e-reader. Download was legal as Carroll is now dead and copyright has since disappeared.
Total rating: 4 out of 5
Downloaded at: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/ where you can thousands of ebooks available to print, PDF and epub formats.
For a story that began as an improvisation told to three children on a river trip, Alice in Wonderland is a very good book filled with sheesha-smoking caterpillars, permanently-smiling cats and mock/false turtles. Not forgetting a King and Queen of hearts and pelicans used for croquet mallets.
The story, of course, begins with Alice spotting a white rabbit in a waistcoat which runs down a rabbit hole and she just HAS to follow this curious rabbit, doesn't she?
What follows is a story of a girl who goes from standard size to mega-small to long-necked who explores this Wonderland of the aforementioned animals. She gets to hear stories of turtles who danced with lobsters, meet children who transform into pigs and a Cheshire cat which has the ability to appear and disappear upon its will.
As the story goes on, things just seem to get weirder until the climax in which Alice finds herself at a trial against an unnamed character which has written some strange verse when the full pack of cards rises into the air and falls onto her.
This was a book I'd wanted to read for some time, and when I found the free e-book of it, I felt obliged to download it.
Although this was originally told/written for children, I reckon adults would also take pleasure in reading such a story (Wikipedia does say that adults enjoy it also). It's like some sort of legal acid trip put into words (let's face it, when have you EVER seen a caterpillar sitting on a mushroom, puffing away on a hookah when sober?)
Certainly worth the 9kb and short amount of time it took to download, AIW is one for everyone. It also read very well on the e-reader. Download was legal as Carroll is now dead and copyright has since disappeared.
Total rating: 4 out of 5
Downloaded at: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/ where you can thousands of ebooks available to print, PDF and epub formats.
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Review of the Sony PRS-350 Reader
As of around 12 midday today I own a Sony pocket e-reader. And, to be honest, I'm glad.
Although I do prefer proper books, I found myself spending a hell of a lot of the things, even on ones I could have downloaded for free.
After some research today looking for some Shakespeare for my course I came across the Adelaide University website which offers absolutely hundreds of free ebooks which has since lost their copyright and are therefore legally obtainable for free.
In the past hour I've downloaded over 200 books which, if put into cash could end up costing almost £400 - the price of 2 Sony e-readers. I now have a massive collection and I'm only on 'B'.
This e-reader was definitely a great purchase and although comfortable to read with and easy on the eyes (it uses the e-ink technology) I can't say it'll replace real books which I'll still be buying.
What I purchased for convenience to prevent having to carry around large amounts of books has since become an excellent purchase.
So, what is this e-reader like?
Well, as previously mentioned, it uses the recent e-ink technology which gives the feeling that I'm reading a real book. Reason for this is that the light doesn't distort or block out the text which means, excluding the brushed metal casing, a comfortable read.
It also has a large memory. As mentioned above, I have over 200 books stored on it already which has used up just 90mb approx of 1.5gb memory (one book is around 20kb in size). This obviously means I'll be able to carry around possibly 1000s of books at a time - a lot more than my uni bag or bookshelf will hold.
Book transfer works just like an iPod would - plug in the reader, install the reader library and drag and drop. You can even drag the books into a library ready for the next time you plug in the reader (although, rather than auto-update, you need to select the books from the library and drag them over to the reader - takes 2 seconds to do, though).
It's also an incredibly light piece of kit so it feel like you're holding less than a book when reading. Battery (apparently) lasts for 10,000 page turns, so if you fancy reading Ulysses 10 times, you don't even need to charge the thing once.
Sadly it doesn't come with a case or cover so they need to be purchased seperately but it does come boxed and wrapped in one of those foam bags which does a decent protective job.
Obviously this'll never feel or smell like a new or old book but it was a worthwhile purchase and maybe one which I should have done a long time ago. Oh, and it was also free on the UEL Progress Bursary :D
Now that I'm spoilt for books reviews should become frequent again.
Although I do prefer proper books, I found myself spending a hell of a lot of the things, even on ones I could have downloaded for free.
After some research today looking for some Shakespeare for my course I came across the Adelaide University website which offers absolutely hundreds of free ebooks which has since lost their copyright and are therefore legally obtainable for free.
In the past hour I've downloaded over 200 books which, if put into cash could end up costing almost £400 - the price of 2 Sony e-readers. I now have a massive collection and I'm only on 'B'.
This e-reader was definitely a great purchase and although comfortable to read with and easy on the eyes (it uses the e-ink technology) I can't say it'll replace real books which I'll still be buying.
What I purchased for convenience to prevent having to carry around large amounts of books has since become an excellent purchase.
So, what is this e-reader like?
Well, as previously mentioned, it uses the recent e-ink technology which gives the feeling that I'm reading a real book. Reason for this is that the light doesn't distort or block out the text which means, excluding the brushed metal casing, a comfortable read.
It also has a large memory. As mentioned above, I have over 200 books stored on it already which has used up just 90mb approx of 1.5gb memory (one book is around 20kb in size). This obviously means I'll be able to carry around possibly 1000s of books at a time - a lot more than my uni bag or bookshelf will hold.
Book transfer works just like an iPod would - plug in the reader, install the reader library and drag and drop. You can even drag the books into a library ready for the next time you plug in the reader (although, rather than auto-update, you need to select the books from the library and drag them over to the reader - takes 2 seconds to do, though).
It's also an incredibly light piece of kit so it feel like you're holding less than a book when reading. Battery (apparently) lasts for 10,000 page turns, so if you fancy reading Ulysses 10 times, you don't even need to charge the thing once.
Sadly it doesn't come with a case or cover so they need to be purchased seperately but it does come boxed and wrapped in one of those foam bags which does a decent protective job.
Obviously this'll never feel or smell like a new or old book but it was a worthwhile purchase and maybe one which I should have done a long time ago. Oh, and it was also free on the UEL Progress Bursary :D
Now that I'm spoilt for books reviews should become frequent again.
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